This invention relates to test instruments, and more particularly to a network test instrument.
In testing and analysis of networks, as network speeds increase, more efficient use of test instrument processing capabilities becomes important, to maximize analysis abilities and minimize hardware requirements. Therefore, it is desirable to move data on a bus only a single time, if possible. In network analysis instruments, various specialized processing chips may be employed, however, not all the desired devices in use in the instrument to which data may be destined behave similarly in receiving data. Thus, for example, at gigabit data transfer rates, there may not be sufficient time to employ multiple storing and retrieval of data to separate devices.